Soulworm by Edward WillettPublished by Shadowpaw Press RepriseReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$22.99 ISBN 9781989398807 I missed it the first time, but what’s old is new again—Aurora Award-winning author Edward Willett’s YA fantasy novel, Soulworm, has been auspiciously re-released. What a treat to read the book that launched the prolific Regina writer’s impressive career in 1997, especially as I’ve so enjoyed his subsequent books. And prolific is an understatement: the heralded author, publisher, podcaster, actor and singer has written more than sixty books, including science fiction and nonfiction titles. The opening scene of Willett’s new and revised edition immediately pulled this reader in: it’s 1984, near Weyburn, SK, and seven paragraphs into the story, three teens are in a horrific car accident. After the “car rolled six times in a welter of mud and water, tortured metal, and breaking glass,” it landed upright, and, hauntingly, Van Halen was still “blasting, the thump of the bass like a club pounding the ground.” Exceptional writing. And that’s what one can expect from this seasoned writer, all the way through this adrenaline-charged tale. The story’s simultaneously old-school otherworldly—complete with torches, a tower and drawbridge—and rooted in Earthly details. Sixteen-year-old Liothel is an “Acolyte” in…

Loved Beyond Compare: A Journey of Miracles and Resilience During a Wicked Warby Dr. Jane Amana EkongPublished by Living Water PressReview by Sally Meadows$24.99 ISBN 9781990863455 It was with great anticipation that I received Dr. Jane Amana Ekong’s memoir Loved Beyond Compare for review. I love reading about other peoples’ faith journeys, and Dr. Ekong’s story promised to be inspirational. I was not disappointed. From the opening chapter, Dr. Ekong’s compelling writing drew me in through her vivid imagery and frank stream of consciousness. From the miracle of her birth to the “chaos, uncertainty, and fear” of living through the Nigerian Civil War, to the challenges she faced while getting her education, to navigating hurdles as she raced towards her wedding and marriage, this book is bursting with stories of how God kept His promise, as referenced in the opening chapter, to keep her and her family safe—and thrive—under seemingly impossible conditions. Sprinkled liberally throughout her book are stories of miraculous healings, prophetic warnings, visions, divine encounters, and the kindness of others who crossed her path. There are Scripture references, judicious use of bible stories, and wise spiritual tenets that punctuate the life lessons she learned. Dr. Ekong doesn’t shy away from…

Standstill: A Hopewell Earthworks Daybook and Other Essaysby Bruce RicePublished by Long Road PressReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$20.00 ISBN 9781068949708 I’ve long admired the breadth of Bruce Rice’s sophisticated poetry, and now, with the publication of Standstill: A Hopewell Earthworks Daybook and Other Essays, I can attest that his creative nonfiction is equally diverse—and even more satisfying. In his new five-part collection, Saskatchewan’s former Poet Laureate explores various types of language and arts’ life-saving abilities; presents a poetic and sensitive travelogue as he crosses the border to explore the 2000-year-old Hopewell Earthworks (sites aligned with the lunar standstill, long sacred to Indigenous peoples); and transports us to the ICU-bedside vigil for his deaf sister in Nova Scotia. This award-winning Regina scribe—oft-praised for his painterly use of light and shadow—continues to raise the bar with poetic evocations of these elements, as well. Rice explains that “the prairie creature in [him] is drawn to the farthest edges of a place,” and a 2012 trip to Scotland’s Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides to appreciate the Standing Stones of Callanish sparked his desire to experience one of the “three known Native American standstill sites.” These journeys are pilgrimages, and the writer treads carefully: what…

Corridor to Nightmareby Dave DuncanPublished by Shadowpaw PressReview by Toby A. Welch  $26.99 ISBN 9781989398937 Why is it that tales that involve portals to other worlds are fascinating? Corridor to Nightmare falls firmly into that category. It starts off with a bang and jumps into a world of sorcerers, gatekeepers, and beasts that are half-man, half-Krendel. To keep things spicy, unexpected nasty people and things also go through the portal. When I crack open a book and find a list of characters before chapter one starts, I appreciate it so much. (I wish more authors did that.) The list is only nine characters long, but I referred to it often as I couldn’t always keep people straight. Such a bonus!  The premise of Corridor to Nightmare is an interesting one. An elderly lady, Agatha, is looking forward to retiring from her job as a village schoolteacher. But that doesn’t happen as she is sent through a portal and lands in another world. What comes next is a roller coaster journey! Agatha’s adventure could’ve been fun and lighthearted – but it wasn’t. (I love books with a tinge of darkness and this one delivers!) When it comes to names, Duncan gets huge kudos for creativity, both…

Realiaby Michael TrusslerPublished by Radiant PressReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$20.00 ISBN 9781998926039 As a longtime reviewer, I occasionally receive a book that I quickly discern will require disproportionate time and patience to digest. If, for example, I don’t know what the title means—ie: Realia, by award-winning Regina poet and nonfiction writer Michael Trussler—I can expect that Google’s going to be my friend. In a review of Trussler’s The History Forest, I suggested that reading his complex work is “like walking through a forest under the cape of night”. I’m still mostly in the dark with his latest work, Realia, but surmise that this very perplexity is indeed the point. Non-sequiturs, unfinished lines, seemingly random symbols, footnotes, bizarre juxtapositions (“History = milkshake duck”) … colouring outside the lines is this writer’s style, and he’s nothing if not consistent. I needed to take a deeper dive. Trussler’s bio reveals that he’s “neuro-divergent,” and there are references to “phobic anxiety,” “OCD,” and “the psych ward [he] spent a week in downtown”. As I toddled through the pieces—frequently stopping to research names and words—and realized that much of what the poet questions is actually reality, I began to fall under the work’s strange spell…

Over the Dragon’s Wallby Alanna VanePublished by Cold Blue PressReview by Kelli Worton$15.99 ISBN 9781738023325 Book One in the Children of Koshluk series, Over the Dragon’s Wall is a tremendous surprise of a book. In it, we are introduced to 13-year-old Sage, who lives in the woods outside a small village in Koshluk with her mother, father, and two younger siblings, Violet and Wren. Here, they live a simple life. Sage’s mother is a musician, and often sings and plays the violin for the family; Sage’s father makes furniture, and while they don’t have a lot, they have a home filled with love and warmth. This ends when Sage’s mother dies. Overwhelmed by grief, Sage’s father is unable to take care of even the children’s most basic needs. He finally abandons them, leaving Sage responsible for her siblings, and thrusting them into a tenuous, uncertain future. Then one day, Sage finds a picture of a dragon named Nytari, who is said to be the Guardian of Fate. Searching for a way to keep her siblings together and hoping to appeal to Nytari to change her fate, Sage undertakes a journey to find him. A gate to a mysterious world where…

School Readinessby Ashley Vercammen, Illustrated by P Aplinder KaurPublished by Home Style TeachersReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$25.00 ISBN 9781778152993 Ashley Vercammen’s illustrated softcover, School Readiness, is—as the title clearly states—a book about prepping children for their first days of school, and sharing the story with new students could well ease the jitters that sometimes accompany this transition. The writer is a Registered Behavioural Technician (RBT) and her book “is based on the proven techniques of the School Readiness program at Saskatchewan Behaviour Consulting,” where specialists work with families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Down Syndrome and other developmental disabilities. Vercammen also holds a BA in International Studies from the University of Saskatchewan, and taught English to students in China. The Redvers, SK-born writer’s education and interests have informed the text in School Readiness, published by Home Style Teachers. The book follows a culturally and ability-diverse group of students as they consider how to conduct themselves at school, ie: how one uses a “quiet, inside voice” in the classroom, and how students should raise a hand “to speak or leave [their] chair”. There’s information here for students who might be anxious about school structure, as well, ie: scheduling. “I…

I Think We’ve Been Here Beforeby Suzy KrausePublished by Radiant PressReview by Brandon Fick$25.00 ISBN 9781998926220 The biggest compliment I can give to Suzy Krause’s I Think We’ve Been Here Before is that it is a comforting, fuzzy-sweater-type book about the bleakest topic imaginable: the end of all life on Earth. Spanning three months, mostly in southwestern Saskatchewan, partially in Berlin, the novel follows Marlen and Hilda Jorgensen and their daughter Nora, along with Hilda’s sister Irene and her husband and son, Hank and Ole, and Hilda and Irene’s father, Iver, as they grapple with news of an impending cosmic blast. Those expecting an apocalyptic, sci-fi disaster narrative will be disappointed. I Think We’ve Been Here Before is about love, family, and community, the fundamental things that matter to all of us. It is about forgiveness, acceptance, and making the best use of a finite – or perhaps not so finite – life. Krause also injects some high-concept physics that are eventually tied to the characters’ recurring sense of déjà vu. What grounds this potentially baffling story that raises concepts like quantum entanglement is the family unit. Marlen, already diagnosed with terminal cancer, has written a book that mirrors the…

Get Your Footprints Out of My Gardenby K.J. MossPublished by Wood Dragon BooksReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$19.99 ISBN 9781990863509 Poetry can sometimes be obscure and leave readers feeling that they just don’t “get” the work, and thus, they’re unable to connect with it. No one could accuse Moose Jaw resident Karran Moss, a longtime Registered Massage Therapist and new poet, of writing ambiguous work: the poems in her fifty-piece collection, Get Your Footprints Out Of My Garden, are clear-eyed, plain-spoken and easily understandable. Moss explains in her introduction that at age twelve, during a Grade Seven school trip, she was “trapped in an elevator with a predator.” Further trauma occurred when a “well-meaning group of people” tried “to ‘pray’ the trauma out of [her],” which served only to exacerbate her PTSD: “religion became a trauma trigger,” she writes, and this collection is her “journey of growth and healing.” During therapy, “these poems started flying out of [her] soul.” As she continued working on her diagnosed c-PTSD (Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) with a psychologist, the healing began. The tone and “frenzy” of the poems changed, and her “life started to make sense.” The vulnerable and hopeful meditations are organized into…

I’m Just Gerry: Building a Forever Company the Price Wayby Rob Wozny (Afterward by Gerry Price)Published by Wood Dragon BooksReview by Michelle Shaw$21.99 ISBN 9781990863318 I’m Just Gerry is the compelling story of the growth of a small prairie company and its journey to become a world leader in its field. Price Industries grew from a little company in Winnipeg to become a billion-dollar world leader in the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) industry. The book explains the principles that helped the company to do that, many of which seem counterintuitive to succeeding in the cutthroat business world of today. Fundamental concepts like service first and treating others the way you want to be treated. The fact that the business has succeeded is an incredible testimony to the perseverance and vision of Gerry Price. I know nothing about the HVAC business, but I feel as if this little book – and Gerry Price himself – are well-kept secrets that need to be shared. Gerry’s approach is clear: “What counts is how leaders treat others and, more importantly, how they treat the people in the business with the least authority and power. Anybody who abuses people or takes advantage of people…